The HorrorPops, Scarred Hope,The Ordinary's @ The Rev,03/08/2005

Fri 5th Aug, 2005 in Gig Reviews

With all the various opinions floating around about the HorrorPops gigs down south, I was really, really looking forward to this show at the Rev so that I could see what the hype (good and band) was about.

A decent-sized crowd had already gathered in time for first support band The Ordinary’s – not surprising given the dedicated following this local band has garnered. Always exciting to watch, the band played a tight, furious set of raucous punk tunes, of which Off The Beaten Tracks, One By One and Ghosts Of The Past (all off the new self-titled EP) were highlights. If you haven’t had a chance to catch these guys yet, keep your ear to the ground. They are well worth checking out.

Next up was Scarred Hope. Whereas The Ordinary’s’ performance inspired the fist-pumping actions in the crowd, this band got everyone dancing. Their ska and reggae-inflected tunes worked very well, while the band members displayed abundant enthusiasm. Don’t make the mistake of thinking it was all light-hearted, Reel Big Fish-esque tunes, though. Scarred Hope was perfectly capable of bringing out the big guns, with manic guitars and slap-happy bass lines permeating some songs.

And then it was time for the HorrorPops. They did start off promisingly, amongst a roar of appreciation from the crowd. Their brand of frenetic psychobilly had the place pumping, and the go-go dancers claimed a great deal of the attention for the first few songs. But then….well, I’m not quite sure what happened. Perhaps it was the fact that there was too much banter between songs (there are only so many times you can be asked to give a ‘hell yeah!’) by singer Patricia, or maybe their tunes were a bit too same-ish after a while. In any case, my attention and that of my accomplice began to wane about half-way through the set. At one point during the show, the band stopped playing (and rightly so) to chastise those involved in a fight that had broken out near the bar (the same thing happened in the same spot during the Tiger Army performance at the Rev earlier this year – cue X Files music).

Tracks from Hell Yeah!, released in 2004, made up most of the set and were well received by the fans, particularly Dotted With Hearts (complete with plush heart props being used by the dancers), Misstake and Where They Wander. Only a couple of tracks from new album Bring It On! made it into the set, as well as a cover of Billy Idol’s Rebel Yell.  

Aside from my criticisms a couple of paragraphs back, it was quite special to see ex-Tiger Army and AFI member Geoff Kresge in action, and I do think that the HorrorPops have a great rapport with each other. However, the gig simply fell short of expectations.

We exited the venue talking animatedly about the support bands, but were strangely silent when it came to the impact of the HorrorPops.